House of Style Visits Transsexual Punk Rocker

For its final episode of the season,House of Style 2.0 headed to the St. Augustine, Florida, home of Laura Jane Grace, lead singer of the punk band Against Me! She gave co-host Joan Smalls a tour of her closet, pointing out an old Dead Kennedys T-shirt (“when I was a young punk kid and I was Dumpster diving and wearing this, I think it’s important for you to know I was still going home at night and washing my face with Clinique, so there’s no reason why you can’t be punk and have good skin”), and the first dress she wore in public dressed as a woman — Mossimo from Target. For Grace, it’s less about “passing” and more about feeling good: “I don’t mind being identified as a transsexual … I’m very happy with myself and I’m very comfortable with myself, and it’s really just about, you know, feeling comfortable with what you wear when you go out.”

Grace came out as transgender earlier in the year, but it’s something that’s been on her mind for a long time. “One of my most vivid memories of associating with a female was seeing Madonna, and just being like, That’s me,” she said. “I guess I kind of made the decision to transition starting two or three years ago, but it was something that really took a lot of building up to, to put into motion. There’s so many moments in life where you feel guilt and you feel shame and all that, but you get to the point where you realize things aren’t going to change, so I just thought the best thing to do as a parent — also as an artist — was try and embrace the truth that you feel inside of yourself.”

“[We] can’t say enough about how impressed we were by her candor and warmth,” Sophia Rai, VP of digital and producer of House of Style told the Cut. “She is open and eager to addressing fans and the transgender community about her transition and we’re honored to be a part of it.” Hear more from Grace in the video.